Monsters and Mythical Creatures from around the World

by Heather Frigiola

Overview

The creativity and complexity of how mankind uses mythical creatures to explain the unexplainable.

Mythical creatures are cultural artifacts—creations of the human imagination from all around the world. From terrifying monsters to sacred mystical beasts, weird-looking humanoids, magical birds, and many other fantastic beings, the mythological creatures in this book are sure to enchant and amaze.

Discover myths and legends spanning from ancient times to modern day from every corner of the globe. Learn the cultural origins of 240 different mythical creatures, captured in ten chapters and 100 colorful illustrations. You will find terrifying bogey monsters as well as benevolent guardians. Meet creatures that symbolize obstacles to overcome, ones that explain the occurrence of disease, some that ward away evil, and others that were created simply for amusement. Explore mythology from the Middle East, Africa, India, Japan, Mexico, Europe, Polynesia, and beyond.

This guide is a ticket to travel the world and discover its strangest magical beasts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780764358425
Publisher:	Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.
Publication date:	11/28/2019
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Heather Frigiola holds a master’s degree in cultural anthropology. She has been a teaching assistant and a guest lecturer at different universities, specializing in topics such as human-animal interaction, ancient civilizations, and comparative mythology. She resides in Washington.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

NORTH AMERICA

In this chapter, "North America" refers to the United States of America, Canada, and Greenland. Despite being only three countries, this region is extraordinarily diverse. It is home to hundreds of millions of English speakers of European descent, as well as African diaspora, French Canadians, Spanish speakers, and immigrants from all over the world. This continent is also the birthplace of indigenous peoples who arrived 14,000 years ago or longer. Over this time these First Nations developed extensive trade networks and diverse societies from coast to coast. The US and Canadian governments recognize about 1,200 different tribes and groups.

The majority of the mythical creatures in this chapter are associated with these First Nations. Obviously, some twenty creatures represent just a tiny sample of their mythology. Regardless, the creatures in this chapter provide insight on the worldviews of Native American cultures, including how they differ from Euro-American culture, and from one another. Mythical creatures have also appeared spontaneously among the societies of non-Native North Americans. For instance, lumberjacks have produced a robust mythical corpus with monsters known as Fearsome Critters. In addition, some mythical creatures have become iconic symbols of specific regions. Certain ones are regarded as cryptids today. These myths and legends illustrate the elaborate, ever-evolving history of cultural blending that characterizes the North American people.

Adlet

The adlets are a malevolent group of half-dog, half-humanoid monsters from Inuit mythology. They are the descendants of a woman who married a dog. Adlets have human-like upper bodies and the legs of dogs, which enable them to run extremely fast. They are also taller than most humans. They appear in folklore from Greenland, Hudson Bay, and the Labrador coast. Stories of a woman being impregnated by a dog are also told in Alaskan folklore.

The most famous story about the adlet was recorded in Baffin Land in the 1880s. The myth is a cautionary tale about a woman who refuses to marry a man. According to legend, a young woman named Niviarsiang married a dog named Ijirqang.

The dog could not provide for her, so they lived with the woman's father, Savirqong. Niviarsiang gave birth to ten children. Five of them looked like normal dogs and five were adlets. Savirqong quickly tired of housing his daughter's monstrous brood, so he sent them all to live on a small island. The dog had to swim across the water in order to retrieve food from his father-in-law. He would carry a pair of boots around his neck, which Savirqong would fill up with meat. One day Savirqong filled the boots with rocks, causing the dog to sink and drown. Enraged, Niviarsiang gathered her children and crossed the water in a boat. She sent the adlets to attack her father, whereupon they chewed off his hands and feet. Then she sent the adlet children off into the wilderness, where they dispersed. Today their descendants continue to roam and prey on humans.

Bigfoot

— See Sasquatch.

Deer Woman

Deer, especially female deer, symbolize fertility and sexuality among many First Nations. Traditionally this was seen in a positive light. In some tribes' folklore, Deer Woman helps women conceive children. Yet, for some southeastern US tribes, such as the Cherokee and Creek, Deer Woman is a sinister temptress who brings doom to young men. Above the waist she is a doe-eyed woman, and below the waist she has the legs of a deer. She is capable of appearing fully human.

While in disguise, Deer Woman will often join community dances. Usually the whole village is unaware of her intrusion, yet if somebody takes a good, direct look at her feet, they will notice she has hooves. Once one person recognizes Deer Woman for what she is, her disguise ceases to be effective and she runs off into the woods. Deer Woman always vanishes into the spirit realm after leaving the community dances; therefore no man is able to have her. Some men succumb hopelessly to her charm and waste away from obsession and despair.

In some contemporary versions of the myth, Deer Woman stands behind a bush with her animal legs concealed and lures young men over to join her. If the man allows his desires to get the better of him, she will stomp him to death with her hooves. Among the tribes relocated to Oklahoma, some say Deer Woman is the vengeful ghost of a woman who was murdered. Parents may warn their children that she will come and get them if they misbehave. These negative interpretations are most likely of recent origin, as Deer Woman was historically considered sacred.

Hodag

The hodag belongs to a category of North American mythical creatures known as Fearsome Critters. These monsters are the subject of campfire stories told by lumberjacks and other outdoorsmen. Having since expanded beyond the context of campfire entertainment, the hodag has become the official mascot of the town of Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Today there are local sports teams named the Hodags, an annual Hodag Country Music Festival, and a large fiberglass hodag sculpture in front of the Rhinelander chamber of commerce. A popular black-and-white postcard depicts the hodag as a mere dog-sized beast standing on a log, cornering a terrified boy. Behind it are some two dozen angry townsmen with their pitchforks raised at the creature.

Varying descriptions of the hodag have appeared in early-twentieth-century books about Fearsome Critters. The most well-known account claims it was discovered by a naturalist named Eugene Shepard in 1896, as he passed by a lumber camp in Rhinelander. There stood the gigantic beast, allegedly having emerged from a pile of ashes where expired oxen were being cremated. Shepard described it as a composite of many animals, with the back of a dinosaur lined with spikes, and thick, short claws on its four massive feet. It had two large horns on its head, tusks, and a long tail ending in a spear-like point. Shepard instructed the lumberjacks to dig a pit that was 50 feet across and bait it with an ox. Once the hodag fell in, they put it to sleep by using a chloroform-soaked sponge on the end of a 30-foot-long pole. Finally they killed it using dynamite.

Horned Serpent

The horned serpent is one of the most ubiquitous classes of monsters in First Nations mythology. There are tribes that tell stories of horned serpents in nearly every corner of North America except the Arctic. Conceptions of these serpents inevitably vary from culture to culture, yet there are a number of common themes that recur across vast geographic distances. The horned serpent is typically very large in size. It usually dwells in water. In eastern regions it is the enemy of the thunderbird. The horned serpent is always powerful and potentially dangerous and is sometimes portrayed as malevolent. In most tribes it is a complex sacred being that is neither good nor evil.

Among the Lakota, the horned serpent is called Unktehi. The male Unktehi dwell in the water and the females on land; they are known as sacred water and earth spirits, respectively. The Cherokee horned serpent has a similar name, Uktena, although the stories about it are much different. Uktena is a fierce and vengeful beast. His body is covered with glittery, fiery scales, and he has a magical jewel on his forehead. Called the ulunsuti, this jewel causes people to run toward the serpent, who then kills them. This jewel is an object sought by questing heroes. Among the Pueblo peoples of the Southwest, the horned serpent is associated with fertility and is generally regarded in a positive light. The Yurok of Northern California tell multiple stories of a man who adopted a juvenile horned serpent as a pet. It brings him good fortune until his family forces him to abandon his pet in the wilderness.

Hvcko-Capko

Hvcko-Capko is a repugnant animal from Seminole folklore. The Seminole people originated in Florida, yet today most of them live in Oklahoma. Hvcko-Capko is therefore associated with the Panhandle State. Occasionally, people have reported sightings of this ominous creature, even in recent times. It is typically described as wolf-like or wolf-headed, with a horse tail and deer legs. Yet, descriptions are not all consistent with each other, and it seems Hvcko-Capko has become the default explanation for any animal that is difficult to identify. Its size is said variously to be either 3 feet tall, or as large as a donkey, or potentially larger than that. It is ugly and gray in color, with long legs, as well as large eyes that enable it to see in the dark. Hvcko-Capko is sometimes said to have long ears that hang down like a basset hound's. Its name means "Long Ears." It is pronounced "Hutcko" Capko; the letter v makes an "uh" sound in the Muskogean languages.

Belief in Hvcko-Capko may have originated sometime after the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The US government continued to attack the Seminoles in a series of wars until all of them were forced out of their Florida homeland. The beast may be a metaphor for the misery faced by the Seminoles as they were banished to what was then the frontier. Hvcko-Capko is not aggressive toward humans, yet attitudes toward it are negative. This cryptid dwells in a rocky habitat and can be detected by its odor, a foul stench that reeks like stagnant swamp. It also carries disease and causes people to fall ill. Its presence is a sign of misfortune.

Jackalope

An icon of the American West, the jackalope is a cross between a jackrabbit and a pronghorn antelope. Oftentimes it is portrayed as having the antlers of a deer rather than the horns of an antelope. This creature of modern-day folklore fits in among the Fearsome Critters of woodsmen's campfire tales, although its origin was somewhat different. Two brothers named Ralph and Doug Herrick, from Douglas, Wyoming, claimed to have created the first jackalope in 1934 in their taxidermy shop. They spontaneously came up with the idea to mount antlers onto a stuffed rabbit after placing a dead rabbit next to a pair of antlers. Their impromptu creation became instantly popular. The Herricks assembled and sold hundreds of jackalopes that became distributed throughout the country. A company in South Dakota later began producing the novelty creatures after the Herricks retired from taxidermy.

It became widely held that the jackalope is a wily trickster, usually not aggressive, yet dangerous if cornered. It will imitate various animal sounds, including human voices, in order to deceive hunters. This species originated from the mating of an antelope and rabbit. Jackalopes can also reproduce with their own kind, yet they are only able to breed during storms that have lightning and hail. To most Americans this legendary creature is not tied to any one specific locale. Nonetheless, Douglas, Wyoming, maintains that it is the birthplace of the mythical American icon. The city's chamber of commerce distributes jackalope-related material to tourists, including novelty hunting permits. These permits only allow jackalope hunting within the county on one day of the year, June 31.

Jersey Devil

The Jersey Devil, or Leeds Devil, is a folk monster from a wooded region of New Jersey called the Pine Barrens. It has become one of the most famous monsters in Anglo-American folklore. The legend dates back to at least the early nineteenth century and is said to be even older than this. Hundreds and possibly thousands of eyewitness sightings have been reported over the years, compelling some paranormal enthusiasts to believe that the creature is an existing unknown entity. Although descriptions vary, it is usually said to have leathery wings, a head like a horse or ram, and a long, thin tail. It produces a blood-chilling cry that can be heard deep in the woods at night. This monster has also been blamed for killing livestock. The vast majority of sightings took place in January 1909.

The most popular legend explaining the origin of the Jersey Devil concerns a woman called Mother Leeds. This story is usually said to take place in 1735. Mother Leeds had given birth to twelve children and did not want to have any more. Upon her thirteenth pregnancy she said, "This one could be the devil!" In some versions it was born a monster; in others it looked normal at first and then quickly changed its shape. This "devil" terrorized the town until it was banished by an exorcist. It did not return until a century later. In one version of the story, the mother's name was Leeds, and she lived in Estelville, New Jersey. In another, her name was Shrouds, and she lived in Leeds Point. Others identify Burlington as the monster's birthplace.

Kokogiak

The kokogiak is a legendary ten-legged polar bear, also spelled qupqugiaq. It is known from Inupiat Inuit mythology. When this bear walks, it moves its feet in unison.

It steps into its own paw prints, leaving tracks that are indistinguishable from those of four-legged bears. The kokogiak is portrayed varyingly as dreadful or beneficent, or both at the same time. It will kill a person just as any other polar bear will. Yet, in addition to being a predator, it can also be a spirit animal helper. This particular spirit animal is normally restricted to shamans, who are able to ride on the creature's back. Some Inupiats believe ordinary polar bears turn into kokogiaks when they become a shaman's spirit helper.

Once there was a man named Kucirak. There was very little food that winter, and his family was extremely hungry. Another family lived nearby. They had some food but refused to share it. Kucirak went out hunting for seals, when the dreaded kokogiak popped its head up through the hole in the ice. Quickly Kucirak speared out its eyes. The blinded kokogiak chased after him by his scent. Kucirak ran through a gap between two walls of ice, causing the kokogiak to become trapped. Kucirak was then able to kill it with his spear. Unbeknown to him, the act of catching a kokogiak would bring him good fortune. The selfish neighbors started showing compassion to Kucirak's family. All of them then went out to butcher the kokogiak together. The beast was as large as a whale and provided both families with enough food to last them through the winter.

Mothman

Mothman is a paranormal monster of recent origin, based in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. The first Mothman sighting took place on November 15, 1966. Four people driving past an abandoned TNT factory alleged that their car was pursued by a winged humanoid monster. They could not see it clearly in the darkness, and they could not see its head. All they could discern of its face were glowing red eyes, which were positioned below where they thought its shoulders should be.

After they reported their sighting to the local newspaper, other people began reporting similar sightings. Descriptions were fairly consistent with one another. Journalists came to dub it "Mothman," as a joking reference to Batman, although the creature was never said to look like a moth. Some people wondered if the creature was a mutant connected to the goings-on of the TNT factory. Reports persisted for about a year.

Suddenly, the town became distracted by the collapse of the Silver Bridge crossing the Ohio River. The bridge collapse resulted in forty-six deaths and was declared a national tragedy. Mothman sightings ceased, yet the legend continued to escalate for years later. People later began to say Mothman was seen on or near the bridge shortly before its collapse. The creature also came to be associated with poltergeist activity and UFO sightings. The Mothman enigma has brought folklore and tourist appeal to the small town. A statue of the creature, detailed with antennae and other insect-like features, was erected in 2003. Point Pleasant also has a Mothman Museum and holds an annual Mothman Festival.

Palraiyuk

The palraiyuk, or Pal Rai Yuk, is an unusual mythical creature from western Alaska. The Yupiks believe it to be extinct today, yet in ancient times its species was allegedly numerous near the Yukon and the Kuksokwim Rivers. The Yupiks claim the climate of that area used to be warmer and had shorter winters. Images of the palraiyuk were traditionally painted on boats and wooden dishes and have been found on artifacts as far west as St. Lawrence Island.

The amphibious palraiyuk thrived in the grassy marshes between the two waters. It had a long, serpentine body with three humps. Each hump bore a dorsal fin and a pair of legs. The chimerical beast was evidently a mammal, as it was also said to be covered in short, thick, dark-colored fur. It was an alpha predator possessing remarkably long jaws filled with sharp teeth and was known to prey on humans. The last palraiyuk was supposedly killed by a man who lost his wife to the beast. The Yupik also believe these animals declined upon the arrival of the Europeans.

(Continues…)

---

Excerpted from "Monsters and Mythical Creatures From Around the World"
by .
Copyright © 2019 Heather Frigiola.
Excerpted by permission of Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

---

Table of Contents

Introduction, 4,
Chapter One: North America, 8,
Chapter Two: Latin America, 28,
Chapter Three: Ancient Greece and Rome, 48,
Chapter Four: Western Europe, 68,
Chapter Five: Eastern Europe and Central Eurasia, 90,
Chapter Six: North Africa and the Middle East, 110,
Chapter Seven: Sub-Saharan Africa, 132,
Chapter Eight: South Asia, 153,
Chapter Nine: East Asia, 174,
Chapter Ten: The Pacific, 196,
Selected Bibliography, 217,
Creature Index, 220,